Butch Bagabuyo leaving Kamloops Law Courts on April 17, 2025. (Image Credit: CFJC Today)
FIRST DEGREE MURDER

Scheduling conflicts set to delay Bagabuyo murder trial for more than a month

Jun 20, 2025 | 5:04 PM

VANCOUVER — Seven weeks of sitting into the first-degree murder trial for Butch Bagabuyo that has stretched between two courthouses, the entire proceeding will now be on hold until early August.

Bagabuyo is charged with the murder of his former client, Mohd Abdullah, in March of 2022 following a scheduled meeting of the two at his downtown Kamloops law office. Abdullah’s body was discovered several days later in a storage tote kept inside a rental van.

During a brief session early Friday morning (June 20) in Vancouver, Crown prosecutors presented a long list of new admissions of fact, before conversations switched to scheduling.

The case is set to return on Aug. 7 and 8 for the remaining admissions of fact, which Crown believes is approximately four more items. Those two days in August will also provide time for Crown to close their case and the defense to make a permissible use argument before the justice.

The case will then again be stood down for weeks, returning to the docket on Sept. 2-5, with the defense team set to present its case. Barring any more unforeseen delays, both sides are expected to present their closing submissions between Oct. 6 and 10.

At that time, Justice Kathleen Ker will likely reserve her decision to consider the facts of the case before returning with her verdict on an unknown date.